Cafe A Welcome Return To Old-time Keys Dining

February 24, 1989|By ROBERT TOLF, Staff Writer

A new tenant has moved into the free-standing highway house that has been a succession of restaurants over the past dozen years, and judging from our first visit a few night ago, this time we have a winner.

So forget right now that association of doom and gloom with the old lobster shanty and fish house. Think Key West. From the moment we entered, we thought we were going backward in time, or that we had driven all the way to our southernmost city to find something special.

Once inside, we knew we were in the Keys -- the Keys of a good many years ago. Seated at the piano was none other than Gwen Bari and her toy poodle, ``Beaucoup,`` happily curled up in a hollowed-out duck. Amazing! Only in America, or maybe only in Florida. In any case, her inexhaustible supply of good songs and spirit sets a happy tone in this reborn restaurant.

The decor, the white walls and latticework strung with tiny white lights, the tropical jungle murals complete with parrots, and the pleasant staff reenforce that feeling. Led by the two owners who are omnipresent and obviously eager to make sure their new venture pleases the public, that staff did an impressive job throughout our evening. Our waitress, whom I remember from Cap`s Place in Lighthouse Point, could not have been more accommodating or concerned about our welfare.

We were pampered and very pleased with what that waitress delivered to our table, obviously proud of the production of the back room. The owners also had strong words of praise for chef Tony, who has worked in the back rooms of such stellar performers as Miami`s Prince Hamlet and Gus` Clam House in Pompano Beach -- both of which I have given high marks to in past years.

In a good many instances, such a track record may mean nothing; but in the case of this Cafe`s Tony, I would guess it means a good deal. And Tony`s skills do the rest.

The bread basket quickly arrived -- far better than the norm -- and we started working through the menu. For a starter, for a test of the back room, we ordered the $8.95 fried calamari, one of a half-dozen appetizers ($5.25 to $8.95).

The calamari were terrific, obviously freshly assembled out back with deep- frying oil and coated with precisely the thin kind of flavorful dough that I like. And they were brought very hot.

Another starter was the $7.95 spinach salad, one of four such offerings, ranging in price from $4 for an assemblage of Boston butter lettuce, radicchio, fresh tomatoes, hearts of palm, black olives and cucumbers, to $10.95 for a seafood salad. The spinach salad was very good, as was the $4 gathering of the greens and garnishes -- which we had as salads accompanying the dinners.

After our very positive reaction to the calamari, we decided to take Tony a bit farther along the culinary trail with some pasta. There are a dozen possibilities and one sounds better than the next, the $8.95 ``Regati con Vodka,`` a pink parmesan compliment spiked with vodka; the $10.95 ``Shells alla Palermitana,`` baby shells with black olives and ricotta with eggplant in a light fillet of tomato sauce; and the $12.95 ``Tortellini Palm Gardens,`` a mingling of shrimp, mushrooms and prosciutto in a pink tomato sauce.

We decided on the ``Tortellini al Panne,`` which really should read in correct Italina ``Tortellini alla Panna.`` It also was terrific, even through I am usually not too fond of adding cream to any kind of sauce. In Tony`s talented hands, that combination of cream, cheese and egg was a superlative salute to the tortellini.

What followed was not as palate-boggling, but it was good and gave us ample cause to consider a return visit, and then another and another, without too much delay.

One of our entrees was the $8.95 grilled baby chicken. Marinated first in a blend of herbed oil -- garlic, basil, rosemary and shallots -- it was, as the menu stated, ``grilled to perfection.``

The other selection was the $15.95 paillard of veal identified as the chef`s specialty and enthusiastically recommended by our smiling waitress. The generous cut of quality veal was liberally smothered in mushrooms, dotted here and there with bits of artichoke hearts and splashed with a fine marsala sauce.

We would gladly order the same next time around. The Palm Gardens Cafe deserves many ``next times around.``